"Today is the day of your summoning! This is the first exam of you second years, as well as the sacred day in which you will first encounter your familiar spirit, with whom you will spend the rest of your life with as a part of an aristocratic family."

Louise remained silent as she watched the bald professor in front of her speaks. Yet despite her silence her mind was racing. This was it after all, this was her last chance to prove herself a true noble and show that she in fact could use magic just like everyone else. She needed to prove herself, especially after yesterdays little, 'incident'.

Hey, it wasn't her fault the teacher didn't listen to the other students. Sure she blew up the classroom but it was not her fault at all!

Still she also felt nervous because of how big she had boasted about today. She claimed she would summon a sacred, beautiful, and strong familiar, and that she had absolute faith in the Summon Servant spell. But now, with the actual event before her, she felt herself growing anxious.

Would she even be able to do it? Would she be able to succeed and summon something so grand like she had spoken.

"I can hardly wait to see what 'grand' familiar spirit you will summon." a teasing voice spoke from behind Louise causing her to jump slightly.

Louise glared at the figure beside her. Long crimson hair, amber colored eyes, dark tinted skin, and a chest the size of damn melons, it could all belong to the one person Louise hated the most in this world. Her rival and the person who mocked her the most in this school.

Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt-Zerbst

"Go away," Louise spat back as she turned her gaze back to the professor.

Louise flinched and closed her eyes to ignore the woman. Leave it to that damn Zerbst to remind her. She didn't need even more pressure than she already had. It was bad enough that this was her last chance, but to have her damn rival remind her of all people was just making the pressure worse on her.

Calming herself Louise opened her eyes to focus back on the professor.

Only for her eyes to widen in shock and fear.

The professor had vanished. No, not just him, everything had vanished! The school, the students, everyone, they had all disappeared!

And replaced with a dark endless abyss.

"No.."

It wasn't possible, but it had happened. She was back. Back in the nightmare.

But how, why? She wasn't asleep this time so she shouldn't be here! It made no sense?! Where did everyone go, where had the school gone too?! What in Brimir's name was going on?!

Before she could act however Louise freezes. Something was behind her. She didn't know how, but she could feel it, a presence right behind her. A very familiar one.

Heart pounding at her chest Louise slowly turns her gaze behind her.

And is greeted by a pair of heterochromic eyes.

Louise feels her body freeze up and begin to shake as she stares at the glowing eyes.

"Louise?"

Why? Why did she keep seeing those eyes? What did they want from her?

"Oy, Zero Louise? You okay?"

Why did she keep having these nightmare? Why was she being punished like this? What had she done?!

"Hey come on, snap out of it!"

She just wanted to prove herself. To prove she wasn't a failure. Was that so wrong?!

"Louise!!"

"Just leave me alone!!!"

Louise suddenly blinks as she let's out a startled gasp. Snapping her head to the up, her eyes quickly take note of Kirche standing in front of her with a worried and confused expression, as well as several other students giving her weird looks.

Was, was she back? Was it all just in her head again?

"H-Hey, you alright?"

Louise turns her attention back to Kirche, who looks at her with uncertainty and, was that concern?

Louise huffs and tosses the motion aside. Zerbst, concerned about her? She'd sooner give up being a noble then believing such a thing.

"I-I'm fine, leave me be!"

With that Louise turns her back to Kirche and walks away from the other students, all the while praying they don't see her confusion and fear.

=========================================================

"Oh Salamander huh? You sure summoned a big one Miss Zelpusto."

Kirche felt herself smile as she pet the large crimson lizard beside her. Her summoning had gone splendidly, as the Salamander was at least 8 feet in length alone. If this didn't demonstrate her skill and ability with fire magic, nothing surely would.

"It's a result that matches my nickname, The Feveret Kirche." Kirche boasted proudly as she let out a calm and seductive smile.

The professor nodded and turns his attention back to the other students. Each one had their own brand and unique familiars with them, from moles to bugbears to birds, even Tabitha had summoned a dragon which was incredible. A smile crept to his face as he felt proud of each and everyone of them.

"So then, has everyone gone then?" The professor ask curiously to the students.

At this Kirche frowned. There was one student left who hadn't gone, but after what happened earlier would it really be alright to let her attempt it? The way she had looked, the expression her eyes held, it actually made Kirche nervous for her rival.

Still...

"No, one student is still left," Kirche replied as she smiled, "Miss Valliere."

At this the crowd of students all turn their gaze towards one part of the courtyard, where the pink haired noble stood away from the others. Noticing their glances Louise flinches but collects herself. Nodding silently Louise slowly made her way forward towards the professor.

"Heh, the zero is going up huh?"

"What do you think she'll summon?"

"Knowing her it'll probably just be another explosion and that will be that, haha!"

Louise grit her teeth but pushed aside the voices of the other students. Brimir curse them, she would show them. Today she would show all of them that she wasn't a failure anymore. She was a proper noble and could use magic just as well as any of them!

Standing in the center of the courtyard Louise nervously fiddled with her wand in her right hand as she felt the gazes of everyone on her.

"Oy Louise!"

Louise frowned as she glared at Kirche, who had a taunting smile on her face as she rubbed the head of her salamander.

"You said you would summon something greater than this boy, right? Let's see if you can back up your word."

Louise closed her eyes as she took one last deep breath. Slowly lifting her wand, Louise began channeling her magic.

"I beg you."

Louise felt herself hesitate at what to say next, but steeled herself as she focused her power.

"My slave who lies somewhere in the universe!!"

The students all let out confused expressions and gasp.

"What's with a chant like that?"

"W-well it is rather unique to her isn't it?"

Louise ignored them as she focused on her magic. She couldn't fail now, she couldn't!

"O-"

Suddenly Louise felt the cold again. Time around her seemed to freeze as the students and familiars all around her stopped moving and the sky grew dark. Turning her gaze upwards Louise felt fear echo in her heart.

Above, the clouds in the sky seemed to gather around and form a massive hole of some sort, like the eye of a storm. And from the hole, a massive pulsing crimson glow emitted down towards Louise. Louise's grip on her wand lessened in fear only to tighten again as she steeled herself.

No, not now! This couldn't happen to her now!! Raising her wand higher, Louise continued to channel her magic.

"Oh sacred, beautiful, a-and strong familiar spirit!"

The crimson aura glowed brightly as the light focused on Louise as if angry with her. Louise felt panic and fear etch their way into her heart as she watched the light.

"I-I desire, and here I plead!"

The light let out a massive and twisted screeching sound as Louise's vision began to become engulfed in red.

"W-with all my...with all of my...."

Louise's eyes widened in horror. The last words of her chant. She couldn't remember them.

Why? Why didn't she remember the rest? She had practiced and memorized this chant for weeks on end without any signs of forgetting or misspeak, so why couldn't she remember it now?! Confusion raced through Louise's mind as the red light began to swallow everything around her.

"I...I..."

Louise felt her knees buckle beneath her. It was too much. The fear, the agony, the pain and horror the light emitted into her. She couldn't take it.

Maybe it was better this way. It's not like she could ever amount to anything. She was a failure, a zero, even her own family looked down at her. Nobody would ever respect her or care for her, nobody would ever see her as a person who could do something worthwhile. Maybe it would be better to just give up. To just quit trying and surrender to what everyone said.

There was no hope for her after all....there was nothing.

"Don't give up!!"

Louise's eyes snap open.

"W-what?"

"Are you going to just sit there and cry?! What will that do huh?!"

"Who-"

"If you want to surrender to the world and die, then what'll it prove huh? You really want to go back to being a failure, to being weak and worthless like they all say you are?! Are you really content with that?!"

"But I-"

"You say there's no hope? Don't bullshit with me! If you feel there's no hope for you in the rest of the world, then make a hope for yourself!! Find your own purpose, your own reason for existing, not for others or what they see you as!!

"I.."

"And if that still fails, then I'll be your hope myself!! I'll become the one thing you can trust in no matter what!! But only if you fight back!! Now answer me again, are you content with just surrendering and dying here like this?!"

"No..."

"Do you want to be remembered as the girl who was a failure? Who kept trying and trying but never succeeding at all in anything?"

Louise felt her hand tighten on her wand, "No."

"Do you want to lose everything?! Do you want your legacy, your name, your magic, and be remembered as nothing but a ZERO!?"

"NO!!!" Louise shouts as she glares up at the crimson light.

"THEN FINISH IT!!!!"

Louise lets out a massive cry and stands up as she points her wand to the crimson light.

"I DESIRE, AND HERE I PLEAD WITH ALL OF MY HEART!! ANSWER MY GUIDANCE, AND STAND BY ME FOREVER!!!!!"

A bright white light shoots from Louise's wand and explodes out towards the crimson aura as it burst away in a loud shrill shriek.

"Heh....well said girl."

=========================================================

"I knew this was going to happen!!"

"Gah I can't see!!"

"Dammit zero you did it again!!"

Louise blinked as she looked around. What happened? She was chanting her spell and then seemed to black out for some reason. She wasn't sure what happened but for some reason now, a thick cloud of smoke covered most of the courtyard as several of the students and familiars were blown off their feet and struggling to recover from what appeared to be a massive explosion.

She had just caused another explosion. There was no summoning sign, no familiar, nothing.

Just...another zero.

Louise closed her eyes as she fought back the wet feeling emerging from them.

"H-hey what's that on the ground by zero?"

"Huh? What are y-w-what the?!"

Whispers and shocked voices began to fill the air as Louise opened her eyes in confusion and noticed everyone's gaze behind her. Turning around Louise looked to where they were pointing, and felt her eyes widen in shock.

Lying on the grassy ground before her, was a boy. A dark purple coat was worn on his body over a dark red shirt, with a set of gray colored jeans and an odd pair of white shoes. The strangest thing was the boy's hair, which was a dark purple color that seemed to hang down and curl at the ends of his pale skinned face, like a pair of spiked hooks or claws.

Around the boys neck, were two strange necklaces. One was thin with a black rope that seemed to hug the boys neck, while a strange silver spear tip shaped pendant hung right below his chin. The other necklace however had a large golden chain that hung down to the boys chest, and on it, another pedant. But this one was much larger, nearly ten times the size of the other, and was oddly shaped like a twisted dark gray cross with a large ruby gem in the center. It almost resembled a dragon of some sort.

The oddest thing however, was the strange blue gauntlet attached to the boys left arm. It was rectangular in shape and had a black surface on top of it for some odd reason. The plate looking piece seemed to be attached to a circular silver piece below that flowed around the boys arm and hold it in place. But most odd, was what appeared to be a brown and orange box of some sort seemed to be attached to a piece of it near the boys wrist.

Louise stared silently at the sleeping figure. Her mind silent and comprehending what it was that she was seeing.

After a moment it finally hit her.

"A...a human?" Louise muttered as her eye seemed to twitch. There was no way, no possible way this could be happening to her. She didn't even remembering finishing the chant, so this had to be a mistake right?

But as much as she wanted to deny it, the truth was staring her right in the face.

"M....my familiar....IS A HUMAN!?!"

As Louise shouted out in confusion, the red gem on the boy's pendant seemed to pulse very slightly.